Sweep the desert

Infantry corps of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) will testify that one of the most bizarre punishment is called: "Sweep the desert"- in this punishment, soldiers need to move dust from one side of an empty area to the other side. This mission is pointless, but has meditative and performance qualities. which can be repeated in variety of variations and landscapes- subject to the operational circumstances and the improvising abilities of the commanders.

"Sweep the desert" is a result of rules system similar to the IDF punishment system, but carries an emotional foundation to it. I choose an obscure and anonymous elements that indicate the anti-heroism. Their being in the landscape suggests causation and their previously use but were castrated. Resembles to the military act, the acts in the photographs creates a contrast to the macho-masculinity and based on industrious and lack of purpose. The sculptural aspect characterizes those acts strengthen that same similarity.

"Sweep the desert" is a photographic series recording poetic actions that reveals the inner memory of abandoned objects and architecture that could be found at the edge of social consciousness. The choice to intervene in the natural hierarchy of the landscape through position and framing allows to extract the primary identity of those objects, which functions alongside with renewed meaning and history.

The repeated use of the yellow color reinforces the contrast between masculine-macho and the wild and liberated- the industrial shade is foreign to the monochromatic and savage landscape, that his eternity erases the momentary history of the objects in the space.

Buzzing Walls

When I went on a ‘Holocaust tour’ of Poland in the summer of 2017, I knew that I was doing so for personal reasons. As a Jew born in eastern Europe, I wanted to experience first hand the environment that stamped such deep trauma into my cultural roots. However, I was also aware that I was visiting a place identified with very specific imagery and iconography. Capturing it through my own individual perspective became an important goal.

When visiting the sites of ghettos and death camps, I found my mind flooded with different thoughts and questions . How could such horrors have taken place here? How did inmates live in such tightly packed spaces? How could people from the neighbouring areas stand by and do nothing?

I wanted to tackle my feelings head on , through a language that I relate to and trust: architecture and space. Buildings are very challenging to capture, but their textures, layers and geometric patterns can reveal history and culture in very precise ways. As a photographer, I believe that static objects offer me the highest degree of control over what I would like to express, and when it comes to architecture - shooting at a 90 degree angle usually allows me to communicate most clearly. In Poland in particular, I felt that photographing the empty streets and austere, derelict buildings highlighted what I sensed strongly : the sombre energy of war, and remains of a life lived alongside mass murder.

Poland. 2017

Memiya

untitled

100x100 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Memiya

60x40 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

friends

40x30 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+ap

Land

“Pre-Army-Training” (2012)

Enthusiastic teenagers, soon to be soldiers, preparing for draft day. Fueled by innocence and

youth, stories and dreams, expectations, aspirations, and a zest of flock mentality – what do

we know about their driving force? And what do they know about what lies ahead?

Roughly two years later, the first encounter [in my case, an improvised bomb thrown from a

rooftop] brings about a sharp realization: “What on earth did I sign up for?”

This is how they look like; a moment before reality comes pouring down on them.

Untitled

120x90 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Untitled

120x90 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Untitled

120x90 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Untitled

120x90 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Untitled

120x90 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Untitled

120x90 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Untitled

120x90 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Diamons

“Diamonds”

The wool army blanket had been a common element of army life from the early 50’s until

today. For fear of parasites, it is more commonly used as a rug for weapon inspection than

for sleeping, and as a disciplinary instrument, with a special way of folding that can only be

carried by two people working together. A blanket you can’t sleep in is once again used out

of context - to cover a car – it won’t protect it from ricochets, but it may protect it from the

sand.

Diamond

100x80 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Diamond#2

100x80 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Diamond#3

100x80 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Diamond#3

100x100 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

friends#2

80x60 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 6+2ap

Zig

100x70 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 6+2ap

untitled

40x730 cmArchival inject print paperLimited edition of 6+2ap

Flanelit

"Flanellete"

Flanellete (Napped Cotton) is a common and inexpensive piece of cloth used for firearm

cleaning. Despite its abundance, troops are disciplined to use it sparingly, 2 stripes for a

personal rifle, 3 stripes for a large machine gun. By means of this practice, the Flanellete

realizes a dogmatic value for the soldiers, who use in their quiet cleaning rituals at the break

of day and before sunset.

Untitled

140x50 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 6+2ap

Untitled

140x50 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 6+2ap

Untitled

140x50 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 6+2ap

Baznat

"Baznat"

The Baznat - an elongated, hard metal stake – is widely recognized as a typical soldierly

element. It is carried and used by soldiers on a daily basis for setting up tents and canopies,

building fences, and various other makeshift structures. These simple tools were colored

to resemble “Jackstraws” in order to strip them from the militaristic connotation, and then

photographed in an IDF firing zone, the same place where they are first introduced to new

recruits.

Blue baznat

100x70 cm

Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Red baznat

100x70 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Yellow baznat

100x70 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

untitled

100x70 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7+2ap

Untitled

100x70 cm Archival inject print paperLimited edition of 7

Point

An eternal force of nature, there to remind us that he was here first, and he’ll be here long after we’re

gone.

You get absorbed into his immensity, so vast that he’s not even aware of your existence.